Prague backing Poland over voting rights, says deputy PM

Alexandr Vondra, a Czech deputy prime minister, says Prague continues to support Poland's fight to hold on to its current voting rights within the European Union. The Czech Republic is the only state openly backing Poland, which has threatened to veto any treaty on the running of the EU at a key conference later this week if it does not get its way. However, Mr Vondra qualified support for Warsaw, saying the voting rights issue was not a Czech priority.

Mr Vondra said he expected the summit to last longer than the planned two days. But he said he thought compromise on a treaty would be reached, adding that there was "no plan B".

The Czech Republic is pushing for the return of some powers from Brussels to member states, and has sent a proposal to fellow members aimed at increasing the powers of national parliaments. However, it stopped short of proposing that national governments be allowed to completely block European legislation.